Chicago International Show 2011-Long and Picture Heavy!

"Wow" does not begin to describe the wonderful people, great friends, gorgeous miniatures, and total sensory overload I experienced on Saturday.  I rode up with a member of the Stitcher's Guild and her husband.  We didn't stay together long since we were going at different paces.

First off I was able to meet several blog/Facebook friends in person.  April from Every Little Thing was there and we browsed quite a bit together... while we looked for my Guild friend.  I had the double pleasure of meeting Julie Campbell of Bellabelle Art Dolls and Jain Squires aka The Giddy Kipper.  I came away with one of Julie's dolls... more on her in a bit.  Ladies it was fantastic to meet you in person and I hope we have the chance to meet again someday!

Now for the fun part!  There we so many beautiful things it was hard to choose.  Happily I was able to come home with several pieces that spoke to me.

 Let's start off with my treasure from Julie.  Her name is Becka and Julie blogged about her last year.  I had forgotten that I'd loved her then until I went searching for any mention of her on Julie's blog. (There is a much better photo on Julie's blog.)  I do not know yet if Becka will move into the little girl's room in the "big dollhouse" once it's done or if I will construct a special setting for her.

 

 Here is a close up of my lipstick fairy by The Ladybug.  The butterfly cut-outs in the main picture also came from her table.

 These baby rabbits are a real treat.  This picture does not do them justice in the least.  The artist's name is Sylvia Mobley. Her blog can be found here and her website here.  Please, please visit them both.  Her work is stunning on a bad day and breath-taking on the best.  (And I blame Julie for my inability to resist these bunnies.)

 Now for some of the littler things.  I wanted to expand my collection of mini liquors and I needed the chocolate syrup for "Not Quite Fay's".  It was the only missing ingredient for mudslides sitting in the back corner of the hutch.  I feel in love with the mouse toy whist waiting to pay for the liquor bottles.

 Of course I was drawn to the mouse when I saw this panda bear in a basket close to the checkout area.  I think the panda will look great in the Panda Nursery.  I also had to have this little pig when I saw him.  (There are 4 tiny pairs of scissors in front of the pig.)

 The little pig looks just like a beloved toy of mine from my junior high school days.  Aren't they cute together?

 Another shot of the baby bunnies alongside a pewter candle mold and candle holder.  Perfect for either my witch's house or a Rendezvous miniature.  Come to think of it I should have grabbed a couple more of each.  Drat.

 A little something for FH's hunting cabin that I really should get back to...

 I thought he'd be fantastic in the Trading Post.

 A piece of silk that I couldn't ignore along with some flocking... black and white of course.  I bet you can't guess how I'm going to use that.

 Now for the part where I had to keep my composure and not turn into a gibbering fan-girl of epic proportions.  I was able to meet and chat with one of my heroes in the doll-making world, James Carrington.  He even signed my copy of his book.  I also received some (more) encouragement to attend the IGMA guild school. 

And I came away with this lovely.  This photo doesn't do her justice.  I really needed sunlight but I couldn't wait to take all the pictures. 

 

She's pretty much an early "everything" gift from FH.  I'll be settling for flowers and his fabulous cooking for many special occasions.  Oh darn. ;-)  This lady will definitely big getting a scene made around her.  It must include a grand staircase and doors to other rooms... I think.  For now I'll be getting domes or something to display both her and Becka in so I can enjoy them without them getting dusty.  Although Becka might come out to play with Maddie from time to time.  One never knows.

Oh and I did find my Guild friend again and we both fell asleep in the car for a bit on the way home.  Happily her husband was driving. ;-)  I'm going to go collapse now.

My ME Inspired Kitchen

Anyone who knows me in person knows that Mary Engelbreit's style is something I can only handle in small doses. It's like sugar... sweet, fun, even tasty. But it should be consumed in small amounts lest my blood sugar get away from me.

That being said, the subject of this post should cause readers to feel a bit of curiosity. Why would I make a room themed after something that I like in small doses? It's simple: I made the room in a class where I wanted to learn the technique and did not want to waste the room.

My dear friend, Fay Zerbolio, was teaching her room in a bag class and I decided to take it. The theme was "Cherry Kitchen Bag." Her version of the room can be seen here. Having spent most of my time up to that point buried up to my nostrils in microfossils in a laboratory, I had no clue that Cherry Kitchen meant Mary Engelbreit. I learned. ;-)

If you followed the link to Fay's bag, you can see how perfect and ordered everything is. It's wonderful in the coordinating accessories and matching colors.

Her class was over, lunch was eaten, and the next class of the day (sugar cookies with Barb Lewis) had started when I figured out how I would make my kitchen. If it was my house nothing would match perfectly and the cats would be tearing things asunder. So that's what I did. I call it "Not Quite Fay's," which amused my dear friend greatly.

Here's the left side of the room.If you look carefully at the right side of the room, you can follow the path that the cat took to the top of the hutch. He bumped the picture and knocked over a candle stick and some cards on his way.

The tiny figures on the hutch shelves were made by Barbara Meyer of Mini-Gems. Notice the greeting cards are from almost every holiday. Obviously my mini self doesn't put things away often. I made the teapot.I still need to get a bottle of chocolate syrup and a set of modern keys for this shelf. Chocolate+Kahlua+vodka=Mudslide. The dishes are Chrysenbon that I colored with a fine tipped Sharpie pen.

Here's the over-stuffed kitty sleeping on the rug after opening the cabinet to ransack the food. The cat food is bits of a gunny eraser that I colored with paint.One of many cay toys in this room. He's made from a single pompom and a piece of thread.
Here's a better view of the toy mouse.


Here's the right hand side of the room. Notice the spilled cookie dough.

The jar of shells is a special gift from my friend, Barb H., the same person who made the Christmas cookies in a recent stash post. Fay gave all of us in the St. Louis mini group a Chia Head for Christmas one year.
Cookies from the class by Barb Lewis. I plan on getting a calico cat that is hanging on to the edge of the table.

The reason the cats trashed the room looking for food: empty food dish!
Here's my favorite part: the white mouse carrying off a jelly bean. He's in the back corner on the right side of the room.
When these rooms were displayed at the next show, the ladies made sure my room was right next to Fay's. We all had loads of giggles over it...especially Fay! :-)